Two Tigers in a Landscape, Oil on Canvas, French Romantic School, Mid-19th Century, Gilt Frame

Two tigers rest at the foot of a dark rock face. The one at the right is upright on its forelegs, head raised and turned straight out of the picture, its face fully lit and its ears pricked. The second lies behind and to the left, its body stretched along the ground, tail lifted, its head lowered and turned away.

The setting is almost entirely dark. A mass of rock closes the right half of the canvas, and at the left a heavy plant with thick blade shaped leaves rises against the sky. Between them the ground opens on a narrow band of evening sky, pale pink and orange over a low horizon, with a slender tree drawn against it. A strip of green grass runs beneath the animals and carries the only cool colour in the picture.

The handling is rapid and open. The striped coats are laid in with broad directional strokes rather than described hair by hair, and the modelling of the two heads is the most finished part of the canvas.

The painting is unsigned. A cartouche fixed to the frame carries the name of Eugène Delacroix, and the reverse bears two marks, a stamp reading A.F. No 14 and a collection number E33311. The canvas shows loss to the paint layer, an old restoration in the lower area, and would benefit from cleaning.